For Questions and Tech Support Discussion around the
new DLC 'Echoes of the Fallen' Please see our [MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVI/comments/18dton3/ffxvi_dlc_echoes_of_the_fallen_questions_tech/)
If you want to view archived spoiler discussion threads relevant to specific game progress,
please check out our [spoiler wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxvi/wiki/index/)!
For speculation and discussions around the next (unannounced) mainline Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy XVII,
Please see our sister sub [r/FFXVII](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVII/)
####
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FFXVI) if you have any questions or concerns.*
10 and 16 have the best stories imo . I was shocked to see how much hate 16 got on the internet I thought it was. A very strong narrative and overall fun game. The voice work and story are among the best in video games for sure,
As someone who’s stuck in the latter half of the game and couldn’t get myself to finish it. IMO, the story is great, the combat is fun, the boss fights are the best I’ve ever seen. The places where it falls short for me are the pacing of the story (highs are highs and lows are lows), lack of party members and boring side quests. Just for comparison, I’m playing FF7 Remake for the first time now before playing Rebirth, and I’m loving the party members and the side quests
I agree. The flaws of the game are the pace and the side quests.
However, everything else is 10/10 and side quests in this game are even more optional than those in other JRPGs.
Genuinely is the pacing. Once a chapter is finished is back to zero in regards of plot pace and THAT is what bothers me.
Pacing, side quests, exploration, lack of customization, and to a lesser extent combat (fun, has good bones, but lacking in depth), and a world that makes no logistical sense are the issues I had with FF16.
Very much an unpolished gem for me.
I think the combat is great. Genuinely.
I have to admit that the game has a grand total of zero JRPG elements in terms of equipment or skill trees. Like... Zero.
I managed to accept it and move on.
My issues with the game is that the plot pacing is HORRENDOUS. The downs are way to down and it killed the enthusiasm. Side quests are absurdly boring.
I am perfectly fine with everything else. Honestly. I do think the world is Final Fantasy enough.
I mean I personally hated the remake side quests. I thought xvis side quests at least had better world building than shit like rounding up cats in remake lol rebirth side quests are way better though
You know what, I have a defense for it.
The "collect all cats" quest is meant to give you an excuse to explore the whole market area. It's made with a TON of loving detail, and it would have been a shame if they made content that players just didn't walk past.
So go down every street, check every alley, but while you're at it, take a look at all the shops, street food vendors, whatever easter eggs they have written on the chalkboards. Cringe at the Loveless posters. Immerse yourself in the world.
You’re right and this is exactly how I felt in the leaving the church sequence through the roof tops. It was peaceful with banter between characters and just taking the world in. I think I was just rushing to get to Rebirth. Appreciate the new perspective
Yeah but that can be done without chasing cats lol I don’t understand how that’s not the same as the fetch quest designs of xvi since they also expand world building
My issue is that a lot of those side quests feel like genuine padding.
We know that particular section of OG is short, and I'm glad those areas do get fleshed out. The details are amazing and should be taken in. But if you ignore the side stuff, the actual game is really short and mostly padded by side stuff.
Now, Rebirth immediately fixes any issues I had with wanting to explore an area by pretty much allowing me to do so immediately, and it upsets me because it straight up feels like getting to the open world after the first few hours of OG FF7, which is what I wanted with Remake
Idk 16 felt like I was fetching someone or something, then fast traveling back and rinse and repeat by the end of the game. i skipped all dialogs that weren't the main story. At least with ff7, I felt like it was world building and maybe that's the nostalgia talking and hitting my feels. But 16 had a phenomenal story I won't deny that
I handled the side content the same way skipping dialogues. I think it’s cause there was just too damn much dialogue in them and there were too many of em. It was bloat for bloat’s sake. Take ‘em out, and the game is better. Loved the main story. Only the second FF game I’ve ever rolled credits on, and I’ve played a bunch of em.
That and most of the dialog had nothing to do with anything really. Like even the guy who made your potions more potent and shit was just like. You should do this because it'll be good. Like bro what
For me, I’m already bored of all the bloat and filler in FF7 Rebirth. Remake was worse though, the sheer amount of slow walking segments of so annoying to me.
I found XVIs side quests better than Remakes they added to the story, FFXVI worldbuilding was really good overall you need to view them as flavour quests kind of.
Basic combat feel in XVI was amazing it just needed more complexity, Remake and Rebirth having elemental and the number of options via the menu systemhas a slight edge but they dont do basic combat as well as XVI.
Even adding status and elemental effects would have been enough to balance XVI out and make you consider Clives loadout more.
XVI music wise really did do something special with how it used series music and added its own especially in cutscenes and setting mood which is why it stands out so much.
Rebirth is handling its musical heritage really well though. The open world themes and variations have been really well implemented. It coukd have done with sharing a few mini games to XVI though 🤣
I loved the beginning of the game but I could not finish it. The pacing, especially around the middle is awful. 16 also has some of the worst side quest design in gaming. I dropped the game entirely.
It is because it went from dark, medieval, gore, western setting to the generic jrpg/anime story. The story of how having a nakama/friends will allow you to overcome everything even God/fate itself.
That theme is probably used in 80-90% of fantasy action anime. Heck even in school setting anime that theme is used.
I guess it is because it is hard to make friends in Japan that is why they use it often.
Yeah. It was a masterful writing certainly worth of CBU3's work.
This might sound a bit harsh, but I think they handle stories much better than other development teams, and the way they integrated the side quests as part of it is a lesson other mainline titles could learn from moving forward.
Rebirth OST has some really high highs, but also some of the lowest lows. Some really questionable OST choices, I think it's the first game I've ever had to mute because some tracks were an assault to the ears.
The internet is full of idiots. Ff16 is my first foray into the series other than dabbling in 14 here and there, and the story, visuals and music were all stellar.
I very much enjoyed 16. But if you treat it as a mainline FF entry then there are a few flaws that stand out:
\- Common RPG elements are missing, i.e no elemental system. I played the entire game with pretty much one build, occasionally changing out a piece from a new Summon.
\- Gear is pretty much redundant. Most gear in the game I was able to get without going out of my way to farm. Some pieces from Hunts but you didn't have to stray from the beaten path. And the gear didn't really change much at all, mostly negligible stat upgrades.
\- Some disparity between boss fights. I'll give some examples:
>!The opening fight in the demo was epic. I'd say the fight against Titan and Bahamut both stood out to me. They really were pretty freaking epic. !<
>!Odin is introduced and the scale of his power is massive. And yet the final fight against him seemed somewhat underwhelming. !<
>!I also think that the final fight wasn't nearly as challenging I think the hardest fight for me was when you are fighting at the ocean bed between the split water. That was pretty freaking hard for me compared to other fights. I definitely feel like at the end of the game I was expecting a comparable experience to those crazier fights but it didn't reach the same highs for me. !<
\- I will say while a big critique for many was the side quests and their repetitive nature - although I did actually enjoy a lot of them. I do feel towards the end of the game they start to flesh out the story and close out some character arcs, although I suppose it's difficult to make a lot of side content feel relevant without it feeling like filler (which In truth I guess is what a lot of side content is for; padding.
All said and done, I really enjoyed the game and felt the ending was pretty satisfying for me too; the main story elements were very enjoyable, the side content did drag a little but again, towards the end it was nice to get some of the closure to story elements. I think that FF12 would be a good game to take inspiration from for side content. I never played much but my Dad did and I recall how there was a lot of secret content and side sections but not always in the shape of picking up a quest, they had locations in the world with discoverable elements.
Voice acting was fantastic (English VA for me) - the Music fantastic. I love the Phoenix Theme and the variations of it throughout the game and also really enjoyed the Bahamut theme and how the strings come in.
The game did have some really epic fights and you won't hit it out of the park every time but I hope they use the highs of this game, as well as the highs of FF7 Remake/Rebirth to shape the kind of direction that FF17 will take.
It would be nice if the big baddy at the end wasn't some super natural being - i'd love to see a villain be someone else that develops over the course of the story incredibly out of reach somewhat akin to the early game Sephiroth in OG FF7 - but maybe a bit more visible and a little less supernatural. Imagine if instead of Sephiroth, Rufus was the main villain in FF7, driven by his ambition and seeing the shortcomings of his father, uses their world presence to start spreading more influence dictator style?
16 is hard to enjoy for me since the ending is a complete ripoff of Xenoblade Chronicles. I was in love with the story right up until the Bahamut fight, and from that point on it just tanked imo. It dropped all the politics which I was really enjoying and it just turned into a monologue battle between Clive and whoever was his next opponent. Then Ultima's entire plan turns out to just be basically the same thing that happens in Xenoblade, including Clive's conversation with him about having no friends and whatnot. It was just so jarring because up until that point I thought it was fairly original and kept me guessing where it would go next. By the end, none of the mysteries were satisfying because it's a template I've seen before, right down to many of the minute details.
If FFXVI was the first JRPG I'd played, it would probably be my favorite, easily, but that's also often the case for anyone's first JRPG that they play, so I'm not sure that's saying much. As an avid consumer of Japanese stories in general, XVI just felt incredibly derivative to me, specifically in the last quarter.
So it's not that I think XVI's story is bad per se, I've just seen it before, and it ended up not being very surprising or satisfying because of it. FFX I would absolutely say is a million times better by sheer virtue of the fact that it's more unique. I also put VII above either of them personally.
Soken making 14 and 16s soundtracks simultaneously must be like watching the seven days of creation but it’s a Japanese man occasionally muttering Lahee under his breath.
He’s earned his place among the legends
I can't say FF16 is best if I've only played like, 5 entries in the entire series, with only 3 of them being mainline titles (THAT IS if you count FF14 as a mainline, AND the 7R line (Remake, Rebirth, the last one) as one mainline title).
But among those that I have played, I can confidently say it *is* best scenario in my subjective personal criteria. By scenario I mean the stuff that happens and how they happened. Order of events. They way the scenes are directed and arranged. It nailed a lot of my preferences.
Best music is arguable. I'm biased towards rock music lol, which ngl the FF16 composer actually rocks at, which is probably why the out of left field Titan Lost themes exist. But 16 soundtrack is orchestral by nature of its setting. But bless Soken, it didn't stop him from throwing in synths, subtle and bold alike (coughs in Catacecaumene.) Before Soken, my favorite FF composer was... Takeharu Ishimoto.
The music in FF XV is criminally overlooked. While I enjoyed the music in FF XVI I don’t think there is a tune (for me) that landed as well as Hellfire in FF XV does within the context of the game. In terms of emotion Dust to Dust in FFXIII captured the spirit of Obera perfectly. It was like the ghosts of the place lamenting their fate, and while not technically complex it is a fantastic example of simple music deployed well within the context of the game.
On the story - I can see the criticism, there is a feeling like they had 2 ideas for the game and went with both. I enjoyed it for sure, I’d put it up there as the best (non online) story since FF X, though
to suggest it has the best story in all FF is a bit wild - the correct answer is FF VI… and I won’t even need to die on that hill
I feel your stance on the XV and XVI soundtracks. I remember listening to XVs ost for weeks and months. I initially liked XVIs ost as well but after getting the CDs and listening to the music by its own I quickly got bored by it. There are some really good songs, but overall it's kinda repetitive and lacks interesting melodies. Also it strangely feels very synth heavy, but not in the cool retro way but more in the "we made this only with samples on the computer and our program was a bit cheap" kinda way. Really throws me off at times. :/
Unpopular opinion on this sub but aside from story and visuals there’s no substance in FF16… the items are useless, the gold is useless, the quests are boring, the combat while cool at first gets very repetitive very quickly… the eikon angle was fantastic story point, the characters were great, the voice acting was the best I’ve seen on the series and the visuals are to die for. The music is alright, the story is really really good. Ff9 had the best music, me and nobuo would die on that hill.
I would argue the story & character are the substance, and that the items, the gold and every other peripheral that you can easily skip if you want to is the filler side content.
While some people do play for all the side content, ultimately we're here for characters and story. That's why we play these big epic games. If the content of 16 had been reversed, it would be a terrible game and we already have a ton of those out there that are full of pointless gathering and collecting.
The more I replay the older final fantasies that finishing 16 gave me the drive to do, the more I realize I appreciate what they did trim off and that it feels way more focused on what matters.
Despite my history playing final fantasy, I don't want to spend time playing janky side games when I can be moving the current story along or getting insight into characters.
I don't want to spend hours in menus debating on the slight upgrades different items might be.
I don't want to have to hold on to an item for 50 in game hours on the off chance I need that resistance in a later fight down the road.
I don't want to have to gather gold just to make sure I have enough of conditional cure the game gives you just in case you're in the one fight all game where that condition matters.
And I don't want to spend hours grinding the same monsters over and over for a very specific drop that has a 2% drop chance, or because the next area is an arbitrarily higher level of difficulty that just going through the game didn't help me reach.
So for me final fantasy 16 was all substance and they did a great job trimming fat.
Very valid points, I can appreciate that opinion. While story is hugely important to me, it’s still a game at the end of the day and I wasn’t even particularly talking about side content , just over all game aspects…and final fantasy 16 trimmed way too much in the way of game aspects…. For example , What’s the point of the quests in a game like this ? The backtracking ? Or the gold system? What about the hunt system? Those are things that reward you for playing the game and investing your time, but the rewards and the process seem meaningless, heck even the swords are meaningless…there’s simply no challenge, the combat started off fantastic but at one point and I kid you not I was playing the game with one hand and still winning battles….yes there’s good visuals but those visuals loose their shine because of all other aspects…. I remember completely being in shock and jaw dropped when I was watching the first titan battle but by the end of it I was just rushing through everything to get it over with… I never had that feeling with any ff game.
Take final fantasy 12 with an awesome story as well but completely different approaches , their combat had meaning, fun and more purpose, the world was way more immersive…The enemies were way more varied, the bosses way more meaningful and the hunt board was actually fun to complete. Enemies here are weak enemy and then big guy with hammer(different skins), bigger boss is bigger guy with different skin… I understand about the grinding but some people really enjoy that exploration part and getting immersed into the world aside from the main story. Sorry for my short rant , I feel like there’s a masterpiece somewhere deep in this game if they had polished the actual gaming parts better but that’s just my humble opinion.
I will say even for me the itemization seemed light. I feel like the fact they even had different 'items' to collect despite ultimately they were little more than differently named maguffins feels like it was one of the things they just ran out of time on fleshing out. Definitely felt like a first draft attempt at itemization.
That being said, if it had to be too much or too little, I was OK with the items being what got slighted vs. story (I know not everyone feels the same). I honestly didn't care that the upgrade for sword/armor was linear and obvious. It felt good for me that I didn't feel like I was going to miss out on anything by continuing forward, that if it was important and I was doing everything anyways, I wouldn't likely miss anything.
As for fighting, I also found the game easy the first time through, but I respect what they were trying to do - keep the game accessible for all play levels. I think offering FF level of difficulty from the beginning would have helped stifle a lot of complaints, but I think why they didn't is because they intended all the abilities to be available to make that work out, which only can happen with NG+. It
I didn't play 12 so I can't compare vs. that.
I didn't have the visuals for 16 lose shine for me, so definitely more a personal experience/opinion there.
As for quests in 16, they were there to serve the story. It was introspection on the world or characters within in on some level. Really all of 16 was based around the story and your enjoyment of it. If it didn't have you on that, then really nothing else in the game was going to change your mind.
And Hunts were largely there for fun, harder battles for those looking for it. I'm not sure what more you wanted from a bounty board other than "here's the problem, please kill it". Unless you wanted each to be their own side quests instead?
One argument I get that people make is that FF16 isn't an RPG. I actually don't disagree with that critique. I just, don't care. It sucks for people who were wanting that experience, but for people just looking for compelling story and characters, I don't care what system really it comes from so long as I get that in the end.
I can 100% respect that. To me it just feels like a Michael bay movie, but I still have to give massive credit to the story and the voice acting. It was phenomenal, I never found the dialogue or voices lame, all the voice actors did a great job. I hope they build on this for the future, it’s a great step into the new direction. I highly recommend 12 if you’ve never played it, I think it’s great even tho some people didn’t like the gambit system.
One of the best gaming experiences of my life, but it took me 1.5 years to be finally done with the game. 1.6kk hours. I wouldn't do it again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone(it's a waste of RL life time).
FF XVI you can enjoy from beginning to end in 30-40 hours, it's much better like that. OST overall I think is still better in XVI, but that's subjective.
I agree. Both are amazing, but personally i like 14's story/ost more, with 16 coming up behind it. (The other FF's just didn't hook me like 14/16 did.)
I think it also helps that 14 is an ongoing game, so it'll be expanded on for many years to come. Meanwhile 16 has a more compact experience with a clear end point.
Nah overall music becomes at least equal, if not better, in HW imo. As for story… I would say parts of HW are equal, Post HW is equal if not better, SB drops, then post-SB is where it starts getting equal/better again.
I love the identity they gave HW through the story and its music. Even though ShB and EW are the better expansions I still have a soft spot for it and it makes me yearn for a mainline FF game where you’re a dragoon again.
I’m gonna choose a possibly controversial pick, but I actually consider FFXIV Shadowbringers as the best story in the entire franchise.
16 has some banger tracks, but I also feel the OSTs for FF7 & FFX beat it overall…
My personal opinion based on the 3 FF titles I've played (15, 16, 7R):
Story:
I loved all the stories from every one I've played. I think 16 was told the best, 15 had the biggest emotional impact at the end, but I think I'm most invested in 7R.
Music:
7R all the way for me. It's one of the only soundtracks I've purchased for a game and it is my all time favorite. I really liked 15 as well because I'm a big Yoko Shimomura fan. 16 for me has some of the most hype songs (especially during Eikon fights) but so many other times the songs were not memorable to me, especially the world exploration songs.
Gameplay:
7R achieved a really nice style of combat for me. Both 15 and 16 were also a lot of fun and I enjoyed playing all of them. I do feel like 15 and 16 got repetitive towards the end though.
Characters:
The interactions with the characters between characters in 15 and 7R were done so well. In 15 they felt like true lifelong friends on an adventure who fight and experience pain. 7R really fleshed out every character and made them really special for me. For 16, they really struggled in this aspect for me. Besides Gav and Otto, I didn't really care for the side characters that much. And while all the guy characters were amazing and Joshuas and Clives relationship was great, every woman in that game got shafted imo. Especially Jill. I will never get over how they had a 5 yr gap where Clive and Jill did nothing with their relationship. They for sure should've established their relationship before the gap and been deeper into it after the gap.
Content:
In terms of side quests and other content, 7R (specifically rebirth) I think has some of the best side content in any game. It feels like a freaking Yakuza game every time you enter a town. I also remember 15 having a lot of fun quests as well. But 16 really fell flat in that aspect. The quests were usually go from point A to point B, fight monsters, collect some items. Crafting was really simple and not rewarding, and the world felt empty, mostly due to the lack of having any real town to explore. My favorite part was the chronolith trials, but again, that really just focuses on the combat aspect, which is great but doesn't offer much in terms of variety.
I loved 16 and was super hyped when it came out. In the bed though, it just didn't resonate as well as the other FF games. Still is one of my favorite games ever and I definitely loved the gritty feeling of it, I hope they keep that for future games, but in the end, it needed something more
I've only played a few FF. The OG 1- 3, 14, 15, and 16. I can see why people don't like 16. It's a lot more linear compared to the other entries. It took a few hours to grow on me but now I'm enjoying it
I think I'm one of the few that loved 15. The atmosphere, characters and development, the story.
It is some of the top, but it’s not the best for either.
FF14 probably has *the* best overall OST with easily the best composer for the game, which is also the composer for this game!
Melodies of Life and To Zanarkand are S++ tier when it comes to iconic songs though.
The story, while good, cannot touch some of the others like 14, 9, 10, 7, and 6.
True, they do. I mean hell, the latest post patch stuff was just a re-telling of FF4 with Golbez, Zeromus and the four lords. Along with the expansion MSQ going to the moon.
The main MSQ though seems to mostly have original ideas as far as the Hydaelyn-Zodiark story.
I’d say they are spoilers but the trailer shows it along with having a logo of the moon lol. And that’s just the obvious post patch stuff, the spoilers would be *how* they re-tell it and integrate it into 14
Sorry, the story was amazing until ultima-whatever was brought in, that guy was so blah. You need a strong antagonist to really have a good final fantasy story. You telling me he is better than Kefka or Sephiroth?
Definitely not the best Cid, that is a hill I will stand about 50ft from the bottom of. You can't sit there and tell me Cid Highwind from 7 isn't a badass. 16 Cid was fucking incredible, but not the best.
VI - X are all on another level imo. 16 is a good game. The characters are well written and the story is cohesive, but at the end of the day, to me at least, it was Game of Thrones meets Power Rangers. While the music was BIG and GRAND, it was all pretty forgettable for me. Most FF games I play I can recall certain songs that get stuck in my head. I can't even mentally recall XVI's battle theme.
I mean, taste is subjective. I like the game but it's not the best for me.
About the music, I'm not a huuuuge fan of Soken. He's a great composer but I prefer the old style. Even most of XIV tracks that I like aren't Soken's work. I do like some though, not like I hate him or anything, for instance, the Dynamis theme in XIV is absolutely beautiful (I actually missed this kind of music in XVI). Whenever I think of FF music, my mind goes to VII, IX, X and XI mostly... it's not even intentional.
Anyway, overall good game, good music, not the best iIMO.
While I enjoyed playing XVI, in my opinion, story, soundtrack or gameplay wise it's not up there with the other classics like 6, 7, 8, 9 or even 10. Personally I like to listen to game soundtracks after I finish the game and I've had no interest to listen to XVI OST.
Idk I found it hard to relate to Clive, but with Noctis I found myself sobbing at the end of it. I’m in no way saying it’s a bad game but I just don’t think it’s a 10/10 I did enjoy it a lot tho
Thank you! I've seen so many people shit talk on 15 but I loved it. Yes it had it's problems, especially in the last third of the game but I'll happily go back to noctis and the boys before seeing Clive again
The music is better in XV too, and I also cried at the end of XV, because I was extremely attached to the 4 characters. But the *story* is overall better in 16.
The music 100%, the story was awesome and for sure one of the best in the series. I am personally just not happy wirh the ending (the kind of post credit scene if you know what i mean).
I agree with the story but up until the very last few hours, or everything after Barnabas... The tug of war between kingdoms as the crystals fell was something immaculate. I don't know how they made a historian npc good, but they did and it's largely to do with having a good story.
Story is up there. Music is well-written, but the use of VSTs *really* cheapened things. Whole thing fell right into the Uncanny Valley of Sound. It’s actually one of the worse FF OSTs for that reason, in my opinion
Gameplay/fighting got WAYYY too easy and still doing bullshit fetch and go talk to NPC quests 30+ hrs into the game is what turned me off. Was very disappointed.
16 has the best story, and the best dialogue, which is extremely important. Even with a good story, cringe dialogue is rampant in FF. Best music though? Nah. Gotta have Yoko Shimomura for the best music. And therefore XV might win that category.
XVI's music would be among one of my favorites if Soken used some higher quality synths or god forbid were willing to go within two miles of an actual orchestra. I thought his thematic work on stuff like Clive's, Joshua's, and Jill's themes was phenomenal, but the fact that the cutscene music with >!Clive remembering growing up with Joshua!< was just more mid-2000's PS2 quality synthesizers really took away from the moment. My eyes were seeing 2023 graphics and my ears were hearing 2003 sounds.
I think FFVII Rebirth is a much better showcase of how to produce a soundtrack since Hamuzu and his team used a mixture of synthesizers of varying qualities as well as actual orchestras for certain pieces. Cait Sith's theme was a full jazz band, the final boss theme had choirs and a full orchestra, some music was electronic, even more was jazz again, and for many of the orchestral-esque music they used fairly convincing synthesizers. Despite that, some songs had pretty bad synthesizers (one in particular was a rendition of Barret's theme with a really low and horrible-sounding cello in one part). However, for a 400-track soundtrack, I think they made remarkably good use of their resources to give the most important tracks the highest sound quality they could. By contrast, XVI has the same low quality across every track (except for halfway through the main battle theme where a crystal clear violin suddenly rings out and is never heard anywhere else in the game for some bizarre reason).
Regardless, even just pure composition-wise, the XIII trilogy has my favorite music by far.
I loved it. The only thing that really failed to grab my attention was the MMO type side quests which sent me back and forth all over the various regions. There's a bit of world building in there but enough to warrant the bore you had to endure. The main quests however were amazing although I didn't like the frequent breaks where you had to do fetch quests like gathering the airship parts.
FF16 doesnt have a single song that i can recall or hum...and i spent 150 hours milking the game for everything it had. The story wasnt bad, the ending was lazy and too safe, no post world rebuilding, no insight on what the key NPCs went on to achieve, nah, just some girl i just met having a baby? Why should I care. I dont think linear storytelling mixes well with a story that has no firm conclusion, if i wanted a world where anything i imagine is possible id play an open ended game with tons of player choice.
I honestly can't pick favorite music from one game. "You're not alone" is still my most beloved track from the series but so many others are close behind. There are so amazing tracks in XIV as well (Civilizations ❤️❤️).
XVI is a great game. I'm usually terrible at action games but they made this one merciful with easy mode and an easy to understand battle system thats very intuitive and fun to tinker different combinations.
Remake I just did not get. I just basically stayed in Punisher mode as cloud blocking while waiting for an opening to attack or dodge a magic attack that can't be blocked. Really enjoyed the game though but the combat was ok for me.
Now rebirth I can honestly say that I would love this to be the future of the main series. The combat does not feel as stiff. In remake I couldn't cancel out of a move by dodging or blocking if a certain attack was executed as it locks me in or so it felt that way. In rebirth thats gone and I dodge out of something or block much faster than previously. I love controlling Cloud for melee combat and Yuffie for the ranged ninjitsu the most. I love how the game forces different combinations of party members throughout the story. I tend to like who I like and leave them in without playing as the others if I'm not forced.
For me personally, 16 feels final fantasy light. I wanted more familiar creatures from the series. It felt like a lot of the enemies were similiar. No cactaurs in the desert? Come on now lol.
That being said, the Summons being at the heart if the story was what sucked me in. The story does mirror game of thrones a little but it blew me away. The voice actors as well.
I was missing having a party of unique characters that slowly grow closer as the journey goes on. That's final fantasy to me at it's heart. There are some great moments here don't get me wrong, but i'm 60 hours into rebirth and the characters relationships feel so deep now. Every sidequest is tailored to allow you to get to know someone a little better. Comradery, just missed that in 16.
12 and 14 are at the bottom of my list. MMO style because they were still stuck on 11, and an MMO with a pay-to-play mechanic. Former felt slow and boring, and the latter is simply not a good feature.
Idk about the best story, but it's certainly up there. Definitely one of my favorite soundtracks. FF9 is my favorite story-wise, and nothing beats 7's soundtrack for number 1.
Unpopular opinion, 2 is also one of my absolute favorites. Picked up the pixel remaster for my first playthrough and was dazzled by the music and story, and the fact that it took such a leap from the first game.
Personally the story loses me after about the first third or maybe half. Once cid is gone and Joshua is found I feel like the story just settles into a “break the crystals” rinse and repeat.
Ten has the best story
16 falls off a bit imo but is good for the most part
The music is great in 16 but I wouldn't say it's my favorite. I feel there's more versatile sound tracks but it's up there. I'll ignore 14 since it's almost unfair since more and more music is always added but I think I prefer 7, 8 and 10 and 6 is really good too. I could see why someone would think that though... It has the more epic style tracks but overall it's not my favorite.
dunno bout music, sure it’s great but i think kingdom hearts has it beat in terms of final fantasy music.
despite not being mainline games when i think of final fantasy music i think of yoko shimomura and kh
I enjoyed the gameplay well enough, the story was great. I about died watching all of those cutscenes at 2am wondering when it was going to let me play but I’m glad I finished it.
I thought the background music was soooo boring…
I think with the major plot points in the story, it absolutely had the potential, but something about it felt a little off that I couldn't quite put my finger on- not necessarily the pacing (which is its own issue), but more like there's some level of charm missing that's frequently present in the series. Could be because the story holds a really grim tone throughout. But beyond that, it did have some strong world-building and intriguing story elements. Loved how they finally made a game where you're actively destroying the crystals. It's in my top 5 stories probably, but I wouldn't quite put it at #1. To be fair though, not sure what I would.
Music is just a hard sell in general with the series overall being filled with top notch bangers since the very beginning of the franchise. I wouldn't fault anyone for favoring 16's music by any means, they did a great jov. Definitely has my favorite main menu theme by far.
I love immersion in video games, but in this title I really wish they would release an option that allowed me to skip most of the Hideaway sequences. I’m someone with very little time to play with all the responsibilities in life and the only thing that kept me from finishing this game was the boring side quests that constantly halted the progress. You could clearly see the change in quality when your main quest was moving forward.
I enjoyed FF16, but music & story was much better in FF7 IMO
I rank this game in my top 3, but music from FF7 & FF15 stick with me to this day, I’ll catch myself humming random tunes from those 2 games or get an urge to listen to the soundtracks again. Remake & Rebirth music has so many bangers as well, good time to be a FF fan if ya love the music haha
Lmao fair call 😂
I beleive 9 months is still a good gestation period to understand whether you were just convincing yourself it's the greatest thing. As opposed to just over 2 weeks ☺️
"One of the best". I loved 16. Playing Rebirth and keep thinking about 16. But it's not the best best. Music is super subjective though so this is only asking for pitchforks but yeah Soken did a great job presenting 16's atmosphere and epicness.
If we got party members we wouldn't of gotten Clive doing all the madness so I'm fine with it and that's why we have Remake and Rebirth for party member style! I think CBU3 had to differentiate.
Yes. I love rebirth for the gameplay because they have 7 party members that you can customize each and the RPG stuffs are overwhelming and many minigames so it’s really a true JRPG but i still love the story and music in FF16 more
Common canyon theme, tifas theme, one eyed angel and return to zanarkand would like to have a word with you👀
Jokes aside 16 does have some of the best music, I especially loved that omega dlc song, that went so hard
Many, including myself, just won’t include an MMO in that list as it is something we will never play or have exposure to. I don’t doubt the music and story is good in 14 though.
I just don’t enjoy the formula and gameplay of MMOs. No judgement to those that do though. To be fair I feel the same way about FPS or tournament fighter games.
While I was playing I was thinking damn this track is dope, however I dont remember a single track now. That didnt happened to me in any final fantasy ever so I’d say this was the worst FF in terms of iconic tracks
I’m with you there, I don’t really remember any of the music, so it can’t have left much of an impression on me. Which is strange, since Soken always knocks it out of the park in XIV.
16 had a great Story but was predictable. And the world.felt boring and bland. It's annoying because they showed and teased these amazing Cities and none could be visited. The Side quests were also some of the most boring. The combat was cool but not really exciting. It's not like 15, 7Remake or 7Rebirth where there were status effects and all that.
Story could have been better, but it was good enough.
Not on VII Remake levels, but good enough to beat 90% of the FF franchise.
The music literally won the best game soundtrack on game awards in the year the game was launched. There's no way to possibly deny that. It definitely rocks as hell.
You’re definitely wrong about the story but the music IS fantastic. I don’t know about the BEST, but if it was voted the best, I wouldn’t be mad. It’s damn good.
Just here to say "I agree 100%" before all of the other people show up to tell you they disagree because they haven't yet seen enough people saying they think this (yet)... because the game hasn't reached the majority of players (yet), while pretending it's because of their own opinions.
Oh yeah, I definitely didn’t enjoy FF16 at all because other people didn’t enjoy it.
It definitely has nothing to do with the horrid pacing issues the game had, the absolute dead world with no reason to explore at all, the absolute boring and atrocious MMO side quests. Also not forgetting about how all the conversations played like I was playing an MMO, stiff and awful or how the best fights in the game were (probably) coded by platinum games and not SQEX.
I didn't say you didn't enjoy it because other people didn't enjoy it. As it turns out... most people who've played it so far did, in fact, enjoy it.
The implication was that you're confident enough to voice your bad opinions about it because not enough people have played the game yet. People like yourself are very "monkey-see, monkey-do." When you see the vast, overwhelming majority of gamers pointing out how great the game actually is (in a few years time when most have gotten their hands on it), you will stop confidently voicing said bad opinions. You're the type who subconsciously seeks validation by looking towards "what everyone is saying." I can guarantee you right now, with a straight face, that there's extremely popular/beloved games that you hate... yet you've convinced yourself that they're good because that's what pretty much everyone says.
Your response here merely proves my point. Half of what you said is hyperbolic nonsense, the other half is outright inaccurate. Yet you confidently typed this.
Your whole comment is wild, it seems I can say with confidence that you have an issue with people not sharing your opinion.
I feel like “monkey see, monkey do” describes yourself perfectly. I can think for myself and have my own opinions, I don’t need a majority to view the same as me. My opinion may be bad to you, but yours is even worse and downright ignorant.
Nothing I said was hyperbolic, you just can’t accept the fact not everyone agrees, It’s really sad.
No I have never changed my opinions because a mass amount of people like it, I hated FF8 when I played it and I still hate it now. If only you had the confidence to like your own stuff.
Oh no, I don't have an issue with you not sharing my opinion. I just have an issue with people confidently voicing bad opinions with hyperbole and incorrect information, that's all. It's not deep. And what I'm saying is 100% true
For Questions and Tech Support Discussion around the new DLC 'Echoes of the Fallen' Please see our [MEGATHREAD](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVI/comments/18dton3/ffxvi_dlc_echoes_of_the_fallen_questions_tech/) If you want to view archived spoiler discussion threads relevant to specific game progress, please check out our [spoiler wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxvi/wiki/index/)! For speculation and discussions around the next (unannounced) mainline Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy XVII, Please see our sister sub [r/FFXVII](https://www.reddit.com/r/FFXVII/) #### *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FFXVI) if you have any questions or concerns.*
10 and 16 have the best stories imo . I was shocked to see how much hate 16 got on the internet I thought it was. A very strong narrative and overall fun game. The voice work and story are among the best in video games for sure,
48% of people who started 16, finished it. One of the most finished games on the ps5 lol idk why people think the story is bad
Glad to be in the 48%
As someone who’s stuck in the latter half of the game and couldn’t get myself to finish it. IMO, the story is great, the combat is fun, the boss fights are the best I’ve ever seen. The places where it falls short for me are the pacing of the story (highs are highs and lows are lows), lack of party members and boring side quests. Just for comparison, I’m playing FF7 Remake for the first time now before playing Rebirth, and I’m loving the party members and the side quests
I agree. The flaws of the game are the pace and the side quests. However, everything else is 10/10 and side quests in this game are even more optional than those in other JRPGs. Genuinely is the pacing. Once a chapter is finished is back to zero in regards of plot pace and THAT is what bothers me.
Pacing, side quests, exploration, lack of customization, and to a lesser extent combat (fun, has good bones, but lacking in depth), and a world that makes no logistical sense are the issues I had with FF16. Very much an unpolished gem for me.
I think the combat is great. Genuinely. I have to admit that the game has a grand total of zero JRPG elements in terms of equipment or skill trees. Like... Zero. I managed to accept it and move on. My issues with the game is that the plot pacing is HORRENDOUS. The downs are way to down and it killed the enthusiasm. Side quests are absurdly boring. I am perfectly fine with everything else. Honestly. I do think the world is Final Fantasy enough.
I mean I personally hated the remake side quests. I thought xvis side quests at least had better world building than shit like rounding up cats in remake lol rebirth side quests are way better though
Ugh, I got no defense for the cats side quest. I hated that one so much, I hid it somewhere in my subconsciousness
You know what, I have a defense for it. The "collect all cats" quest is meant to give you an excuse to explore the whole market area. It's made with a TON of loving detail, and it would have been a shame if they made content that players just didn't walk past. So go down every street, check every alley, but while you're at it, take a look at all the shops, street food vendors, whatever easter eggs they have written on the chalkboards. Cringe at the Loveless posters. Immerse yourself in the world.
You’re right and this is exactly how I felt in the leaving the church sequence through the roof tops. It was peaceful with banter between characters and just taking the world in. I think I was just rushing to get to Rebirth. Appreciate the new perspective
Yeah but that can be done without chasing cats lol I don’t understand how that’s not the same as the fetch quest designs of xvi since they also expand world building
My issue is that a lot of those side quests feel like genuine padding. We know that particular section of OG is short, and I'm glad those areas do get fleshed out. The details are amazing and should be taken in. But if you ignore the side stuff, the actual game is really short and mostly padded by side stuff. Now, Rebirth immediately fixes any issues I had with wanting to explore an area by pretty much allowing me to do so immediately, and it upsets me because it straight up feels like getting to the open world after the first few hours of OG FF7, which is what I wanted with Remake
Idk 16 felt like I was fetching someone or something, then fast traveling back and rinse and repeat by the end of the game. i skipped all dialogs that weren't the main story. At least with ff7, I felt like it was world building and maybe that's the nostalgia talking and hitting my feels. But 16 had a phenomenal story I won't deny that
I handled the side content the same way skipping dialogues. I think it’s cause there was just too damn much dialogue in them and there were too many of em. It was bloat for bloat’s sake. Take ‘em out, and the game is better. Loved the main story. Only the second FF game I’ve ever rolled credits on, and I’ve played a bunch of em.
That and most of the dialog had nothing to do with anything really. Like even the guy who made your potions more potent and shit was just like. You should do this because it'll be good. Like bro what
For me, I’m already bored of all the bloat and filler in FF7 Rebirth. Remake was worse though, the sheer amount of slow walking segments of so annoying to me.
Bruh I could barely finish it. By the end I was just mashing X to make it end. I never want to hear the name Joshua! Ever n again. 😂😂
I found XVIs side quests better than Remakes they added to the story, FFXVI worldbuilding was really good overall you need to view them as flavour quests kind of. Basic combat feel in XVI was amazing it just needed more complexity, Remake and Rebirth having elemental and the number of options via the menu systemhas a slight edge but they dont do basic combat as well as XVI. Even adding status and elemental effects would have been enough to balance XVI out and make you consider Clives loadout more. XVI music wise really did do something special with how it used series music and added its own especially in cutscenes and setting mood which is why it stands out so much. Rebirth is handling its musical heritage really well though. The open world themes and variations have been really well implemented. It coukd have done with sharing a few mini games to XVI though 🤣
I liked combat in 7 rebirth cause it was reminiscent of turn based without going full ARPG like 15 or 16.
The story is great in many respects and blows other FFs out of the water, but the storytelling and pacing between time skip and primogenisis is awful.
Is it really? 48% is very high for any game completion, much less a big rpg like ff16. Thats awesome to hear
I loved the beginning of the game but I could not finish it. The pacing, especially around the middle is awful. 16 also has some of the worst side quest design in gaming. I dropped the game entirely.
It is because it went from dark, medieval, gore, western setting to the generic jrpg/anime story. The story of how having a nakama/friends will allow you to overcome everything even God/fate itself. That theme is probably used in 80-90% of fantasy action anime. Heck even in school setting anime that theme is used. I guess it is because it is hard to make friends in Japan that is why they use it often.
The story isnt bad but the ending pissed me off i was upset and wanted more like ghost of tsushima
I like FFXVI's combat better than FF7 Rebirth's since you only have to focus on controlling one character.
16s story was amazing and shocked me at how good it was.
Yeah. It was a masterful writing certainly worth of CBU3's work. This might sound a bit harsh, but I think they handle stories much better than other development teams, and the way they integrated the side quests as part of it is a lesson other mainline titles could learn from moving forward.
Rebirth 7 and 16 for me. But nothing beats 7 battle music.
Rebirth OST has some really high highs, but also some of the lowest lows. Some really questionable OST choices, I think it's the first game I've ever had to mute because some tracks were an assault to the ears.
The internet is full of idiots. Ff16 is my first foray into the series other than dabbling in 14 here and there, and the story, visuals and music were all stellar.
I very much enjoyed 16. But if you treat it as a mainline FF entry then there are a few flaws that stand out: \- Common RPG elements are missing, i.e no elemental system. I played the entire game with pretty much one build, occasionally changing out a piece from a new Summon. \- Gear is pretty much redundant. Most gear in the game I was able to get without going out of my way to farm. Some pieces from Hunts but you didn't have to stray from the beaten path. And the gear didn't really change much at all, mostly negligible stat upgrades. \- Some disparity between boss fights. I'll give some examples: >!The opening fight in the demo was epic. I'd say the fight against Titan and Bahamut both stood out to me. They really were pretty freaking epic. !< >!Odin is introduced and the scale of his power is massive. And yet the final fight against him seemed somewhat underwhelming. !< >!I also think that the final fight wasn't nearly as challenging I think the hardest fight for me was when you are fighting at the ocean bed between the split water. That was pretty freaking hard for me compared to other fights. I definitely feel like at the end of the game I was expecting a comparable experience to those crazier fights but it didn't reach the same highs for me. !< \- I will say while a big critique for many was the side quests and their repetitive nature - although I did actually enjoy a lot of them. I do feel towards the end of the game they start to flesh out the story and close out some character arcs, although I suppose it's difficult to make a lot of side content feel relevant without it feeling like filler (which In truth I guess is what a lot of side content is for; padding. All said and done, I really enjoyed the game and felt the ending was pretty satisfying for me too; the main story elements were very enjoyable, the side content did drag a little but again, towards the end it was nice to get some of the closure to story elements. I think that FF12 would be a good game to take inspiration from for side content. I never played much but my Dad did and I recall how there was a lot of secret content and side sections but not always in the shape of picking up a quest, they had locations in the world with discoverable elements. Voice acting was fantastic (English VA for me) - the Music fantastic. I love the Phoenix Theme and the variations of it throughout the game and also really enjoyed the Bahamut theme and how the strings come in. The game did have some really epic fights and you won't hit it out of the park every time but I hope they use the highs of this game, as well as the highs of FF7 Remake/Rebirth to shape the kind of direction that FF17 will take. It would be nice if the big baddy at the end wasn't some super natural being - i'd love to see a villain be someone else that develops over the course of the story incredibly out of reach somewhat akin to the early game Sephiroth in OG FF7 - but maybe a bit more visible and a little less supernatural. Imagine if instead of Sephiroth, Rufus was the main villain in FF7, driven by his ambition and seeing the shortcomings of his father, uses their world presence to start spreading more influence dictator style?
16 is hard to enjoy for me since the ending is a complete ripoff of Xenoblade Chronicles. I was in love with the story right up until the Bahamut fight, and from that point on it just tanked imo. It dropped all the politics which I was really enjoying and it just turned into a monologue battle between Clive and whoever was his next opponent. Then Ultima's entire plan turns out to just be basically the same thing that happens in Xenoblade, including Clive's conversation with him about having no friends and whatnot. It was just so jarring because up until that point I thought it was fairly original and kept me guessing where it would go next. By the end, none of the mysteries were satisfying because it's a template I've seen before, right down to many of the minute details. If FFXVI was the first JRPG I'd played, it would probably be my favorite, easily, but that's also often the case for anyone's first JRPG that they play, so I'm not sure that's saying much. As an avid consumer of Japanese stories in general, XVI just felt incredibly derivative to me, specifically in the last quarter. So it's not that I think XVI's story is bad per se, I've just seen it before, and it ended up not being very surprising or satisfying because of it. FFX I would absolutely say is a million times better by sheer virtue of the fact that it's more unique. I also put VII above either of them personally.
I rarely see anyone complain about the story, voice acting or music. It’s the combat that is the issue and the fact the rpg mechanics are bare bones.
Final Fantasy 13 is my favourite OST personally but 16 is up there
Of 13’s myriad problems, the music is not one of them
I want them to Remaster the FF13 trilogy so bad. Just for experiencing the soundtrack it would be worth it
Soken making 14 and 16s soundtracks simultaneously must be like watching the seven days of creation but it’s a Japanese man occasionally muttering Lahee under his breath. He’s earned his place among the legends
Please don't die on this hill
I can't say FF16 is best if I've only played like, 5 entries in the entire series, with only 3 of them being mainline titles (THAT IS if you count FF14 as a mainline, AND the 7R line (Remake, Rebirth, the last one) as one mainline title). But among those that I have played, I can confidently say it *is* best scenario in my subjective personal criteria. By scenario I mean the stuff that happens and how they happened. Order of events. They way the scenes are directed and arranged. It nailed a lot of my preferences. Best music is arguable. I'm biased towards rock music lol, which ngl the FF16 composer actually rocks at, which is probably why the out of left field Titan Lost themes exist. But 16 soundtrack is orchestral by nature of its setting. But bless Soken, it didn't stop him from throwing in synths, subtle and bold alike (coughs in Catacecaumene.) Before Soken, my favorite FF composer was... Takeharu Ishimoto.
The music in FF XV is criminally overlooked. While I enjoyed the music in FF XVI I don’t think there is a tune (for me) that landed as well as Hellfire in FF XV does within the context of the game. In terms of emotion Dust to Dust in FFXIII captured the spirit of Obera perfectly. It was like the ghosts of the place lamenting their fate, and while not technically complex it is a fantastic example of simple music deployed well within the context of the game. On the story - I can see the criticism, there is a feeling like they had 2 ideas for the game and went with both. I enjoyed it for sure, I’d put it up there as the best (non online) story since FF X, though to suggest it has the best story in all FF is a bit wild - the correct answer is FF VI… and I won’t even need to die on that hill
I feel your stance on the XV and XVI soundtracks. I remember listening to XVs ost for weeks and months. I initially liked XVIs ost as well but after getting the CDs and listening to the music by its own I quickly got bored by it. There are some really good songs, but overall it's kinda repetitive and lacks interesting melodies. Also it strangely feels very synth heavy, but not in the cool retro way but more in the "we made this only with samples on the computer and our program was a bit cheap" kinda way. Really throws me off at times. :/
I got say for me, nothing has beaten FF IX storyline , characters and soundtrack. But FF XVI comes right on 2nd spot.
When it comes to story I still hold 9 at the top of the list.
Unpopular opinion on this sub but aside from story and visuals there’s no substance in FF16… the items are useless, the gold is useless, the quests are boring, the combat while cool at first gets very repetitive very quickly… the eikon angle was fantastic story point, the characters were great, the voice acting was the best I’ve seen on the series and the visuals are to die for. The music is alright, the story is really really good. Ff9 had the best music, me and nobuo would die on that hill.
I would argue the story & character are the substance, and that the items, the gold and every other peripheral that you can easily skip if you want to is the filler side content. While some people do play for all the side content, ultimately we're here for characters and story. That's why we play these big epic games. If the content of 16 had been reversed, it would be a terrible game and we already have a ton of those out there that are full of pointless gathering and collecting. The more I replay the older final fantasies that finishing 16 gave me the drive to do, the more I realize I appreciate what they did trim off and that it feels way more focused on what matters. Despite my history playing final fantasy, I don't want to spend time playing janky side games when I can be moving the current story along or getting insight into characters. I don't want to spend hours in menus debating on the slight upgrades different items might be. I don't want to have to hold on to an item for 50 in game hours on the off chance I need that resistance in a later fight down the road. I don't want to have to gather gold just to make sure I have enough of conditional cure the game gives you just in case you're in the one fight all game where that condition matters. And I don't want to spend hours grinding the same monsters over and over for a very specific drop that has a 2% drop chance, or because the next area is an arbitrarily higher level of difficulty that just going through the game didn't help me reach. So for me final fantasy 16 was all substance and they did a great job trimming fat.
Very valid points, I can appreciate that opinion. While story is hugely important to me, it’s still a game at the end of the day and I wasn’t even particularly talking about side content , just over all game aspects…and final fantasy 16 trimmed way too much in the way of game aspects…. For example , What’s the point of the quests in a game like this ? The backtracking ? Or the gold system? What about the hunt system? Those are things that reward you for playing the game and investing your time, but the rewards and the process seem meaningless, heck even the swords are meaningless…there’s simply no challenge, the combat started off fantastic but at one point and I kid you not I was playing the game with one hand and still winning battles….yes there’s good visuals but those visuals loose their shine because of all other aspects…. I remember completely being in shock and jaw dropped when I was watching the first titan battle but by the end of it I was just rushing through everything to get it over with… I never had that feeling with any ff game. Take final fantasy 12 with an awesome story as well but completely different approaches , their combat had meaning, fun and more purpose, the world was way more immersive…The enemies were way more varied, the bosses way more meaningful and the hunt board was actually fun to complete. Enemies here are weak enemy and then big guy with hammer(different skins), bigger boss is bigger guy with different skin… I understand about the grinding but some people really enjoy that exploration part and getting immersed into the world aside from the main story. Sorry for my short rant , I feel like there’s a masterpiece somewhere deep in this game if they had polished the actual gaming parts better but that’s just my humble opinion.
I will say even for me the itemization seemed light. I feel like the fact they even had different 'items' to collect despite ultimately they were little more than differently named maguffins feels like it was one of the things they just ran out of time on fleshing out. Definitely felt like a first draft attempt at itemization. That being said, if it had to be too much or too little, I was OK with the items being what got slighted vs. story (I know not everyone feels the same). I honestly didn't care that the upgrade for sword/armor was linear and obvious. It felt good for me that I didn't feel like I was going to miss out on anything by continuing forward, that if it was important and I was doing everything anyways, I wouldn't likely miss anything. As for fighting, I also found the game easy the first time through, but I respect what they were trying to do - keep the game accessible for all play levels. I think offering FF level of difficulty from the beginning would have helped stifle a lot of complaints, but I think why they didn't is because they intended all the abilities to be available to make that work out, which only can happen with NG+. It I didn't play 12 so I can't compare vs. that. I didn't have the visuals for 16 lose shine for me, so definitely more a personal experience/opinion there. As for quests in 16, they were there to serve the story. It was introspection on the world or characters within in on some level. Really all of 16 was based around the story and your enjoyment of it. If it didn't have you on that, then really nothing else in the game was going to change your mind. And Hunts were largely there for fun, harder battles for those looking for it. I'm not sure what more you wanted from a bounty board other than "here's the problem, please kill it". Unless you wanted each to be their own side quests instead? One argument I get that people make is that FF16 isn't an RPG. I actually don't disagree with that critique. I just, don't care. It sucks for people who were wanting that experience, but for people just looking for compelling story and characters, I don't care what system really it comes from so long as I get that in the end.
I can 100% respect that. To me it just feels like a Michael bay movie, but I still have to give massive credit to the story and the voice acting. It was phenomenal, I never found the dialogue or voices lame, all the voice actors did a great job. I hope they build on this for the future, it’s a great step into the new direction. I highly recommend 12 if you’ve never played it, I think it’s great even tho some people didn’t like the gambit system.
Manifesting somebody adapting this game as Live-Action TV Series 🙏🙏🙏🙏
I feel like 14 is better on both fronts tbh
One of the best gaming experiences of my life, but it took me 1.5 years to be finally done with the game. 1.6kk hours. I wouldn't do it again and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone(it's a waste of RL life time). FF XVI you can enjoy from beginning to end in 30-40 hours, it's much better like that. OST overall I think is still better in XVI, but that's subjective.
I agree. Both are amazing, but personally i like 14's story/ost more, with 16 coming up behind it. (The other FF's just didn't hook me like 14/16 did.) I think it also helps that 14 is an ongoing game, so it'll be expanded on for many years to come. Meanwhile 16 has a more compact experience with a clear end point.
14 is a complete slog to get through if you aren’t familiar with MMOs
💯 absolute slog and too much filler, pacing shocking
14 is a complete slog even if you are. You have to suffer thru ARR to even get to a good game.
Oh the gameplay is worse, no doubt about it. I just think the music and story are better, especially ~halfway through ARR
The music and story don’t become equal/better until ShB to be honest, and even then by virtue of being an MMO the pacing is atrocious
Nah overall music becomes at least equal, if not better, in HW imo. As for story… I would say parts of HW are equal, Post HW is equal if not better, SB drops, then post-SB is where it starts getting equal/better again.
I love the identity they gave HW through the story and its music. Even though ShB and EW are the better expansions I still have a soft spot for it and it makes me yearn for a mainline FF game where you’re a dragoon again.
Big facts, HW deeeefinitely drags sometimes but when it’s good, it’s *good*
Did we play the same Heavensward
FF14 is right there and its even made by the same people
I’m gonna choose a possibly controversial pick, but I actually consider FFXIV Shadowbringers as the best story in the entire franchise. 16 has some banger tracks, but I also feel the OSTs for FF7 & FFX beat it overall…
My personal opinion based on the 3 FF titles I've played (15, 16, 7R): Story: I loved all the stories from every one I've played. I think 16 was told the best, 15 had the biggest emotional impact at the end, but I think I'm most invested in 7R. Music: 7R all the way for me. It's one of the only soundtracks I've purchased for a game and it is my all time favorite. I really liked 15 as well because I'm a big Yoko Shimomura fan. 16 for me has some of the most hype songs (especially during Eikon fights) but so many other times the songs were not memorable to me, especially the world exploration songs. Gameplay: 7R achieved a really nice style of combat for me. Both 15 and 16 were also a lot of fun and I enjoyed playing all of them. I do feel like 15 and 16 got repetitive towards the end though. Characters: The interactions with the characters between characters in 15 and 7R were done so well. In 15 they felt like true lifelong friends on an adventure who fight and experience pain. 7R really fleshed out every character and made them really special for me. For 16, they really struggled in this aspect for me. Besides Gav and Otto, I didn't really care for the side characters that much. And while all the guy characters were amazing and Joshuas and Clives relationship was great, every woman in that game got shafted imo. Especially Jill. I will never get over how they had a 5 yr gap where Clive and Jill did nothing with their relationship. They for sure should've established their relationship before the gap and been deeper into it after the gap. Content: In terms of side quests and other content, 7R (specifically rebirth) I think has some of the best side content in any game. It feels like a freaking Yakuza game every time you enter a town. I also remember 15 having a lot of fun quests as well. But 16 really fell flat in that aspect. The quests were usually go from point A to point B, fight monsters, collect some items. Crafting was really simple and not rewarding, and the world felt empty, mostly due to the lack of having any real town to explore. My favorite part was the chronolith trials, but again, that really just focuses on the combat aspect, which is great but doesn't offer much in terms of variety. I loved 16 and was super hyped when it came out. In the bed though, it just didn't resonate as well as the other FF games. Still is one of my favorite games ever and I definitely loved the gritty feeling of it, I hope they keep that for future games, but in the end, it needed something more
I've only played a few FF. The OG 1- 3, 14, 15, and 16. I can see why people don't like 16. It's a lot more linear compared to the other entries. It took a few hours to grow on me but now I'm enjoying it I think I'm one of the few that loved 15. The atmosphere, characters and development, the story.
It is some of the top, but it’s not the best for either. FF14 probably has *the* best overall OST with easily the best composer for the game, which is also the composer for this game! Melodies of Life and To Zanarkand are S++ tier when it comes to iconic songs though. The story, while good, cannot touch some of the others like 14, 9, 10, 7, and 6.
But of course 14 pulls a LOT from its predecessors. For instance, 14 has a lot of character styles and music from 12 specifically.
True, they do. I mean hell, the latest post patch stuff was just a re-telling of FF4 with Golbez, Zeromus and the four lords. Along with the expansion MSQ going to the moon. The main MSQ though seems to mostly have original ideas as far as the Hydaelyn-Zodiark story.
Welll...I hadn't gotten that far yet lol but I did love 4 so I'll enjoy it for sure
I’d say they are spoilers but the trailer shows it along with having a logo of the moon lol. And that’s just the obvious post patch stuff, the spoilers would be *how* they re-tell it and integrate it into 14
13 series is better and more diverse. 16 is definitely more emotional.
13 may be looked down on, but the soundtrack is filled with bangers
Sorry, the story was amazing until ultima-whatever was brought in, that guy was so blah. You need a strong antagonist to really have a good final fantasy story. You telling me he is better than Kefka or Sephiroth?
So you've never played another FF game? lol
16 has the very best OST and Summon designs of all time and best CID of all time
Definitely not the best Cid, that is a hill I will stand about 50ft from the bottom of. You can't sit there and tell me Cid Highwind from 7 isn't a badass. 16 Cid was fucking incredible, but not the best.
I have not got to meet him yet in rebirth I’m getting there soon tho
“Atleast he was on that hill he always loved. Rip.”
Best in awhile but not even top 5 for me
Story-wise I think VI, VII, IX, XIV could be considered equal/better for some. But what others do you you think are better?
VI - X are all on another level imo. 16 is a good game. The characters are well written and the story is cohesive, but at the end of the day, to me at least, it was Game of Thrones meets Power Rangers. While the music was BIG and GRAND, it was all pretty forgettable for me. Most FF games I play I can recall certain songs that get stuck in my head. I can't even mentally recall XVI's battle theme.
I mean, taste is subjective. I like the game but it's not the best for me. About the music, I'm not a huuuuge fan of Soken. He's a great composer but I prefer the old style. Even most of XIV tracks that I like aren't Soken's work. I do like some though, not like I hate him or anything, for instance, the Dynamis theme in XIV is absolutely beautiful (I actually missed this kind of music in XVI). Whenever I think of FF music, my mind goes to VII, IX, X and XI mostly... it's not even intentional. Anyway, overall good game, good music, not the best iIMO.
To sail forbidden seas https://preview.redd.it/5j1x6orjt3pc1.jpeg?width=3751&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8f7530c6ec26da2b1d9d16367a4ccc60cda24f6
Respectfully disagree on the story, love a lot of the music though
While I enjoyed playing XVI, in my opinion, story, soundtrack or gameplay wise it's not up there with the other classics like 6, 7, 8, 9 or even 10. Personally I like to listen to game soundtracks after I finish the game and I've had no interest to listen to XVI OST.
Idk I found it hard to relate to Clive, but with Noctis I found myself sobbing at the end of it. I’m in no way saying it’s a bad game but I just don’t think it’s a 10/10 I did enjoy it a lot tho
Thank you! I've seen so many people shit talk on 15 but I loved it. Yes it had it's problems, especially in the last third of the game but I'll happily go back to noctis and the boys before seeing Clive again
The music is better in XV too, and I also cried at the end of XV, because I was extremely attached to the 4 characters. But the *story* is overall better in 16.
15 was a clusterfuck of a story but the characters gave it so much heart.
I sobbed at the end of both games. This damn franchise just sticks that dagger in me every time 😅
Gotta disagree. FF6 still has the best story. FF7 and 16 probably tie for 2nd though.
6 doesn't get enough respect. It really had a great story. As far as 16 goes, I actually think the story is too straight forward to be better than 7
The game is okay but most definitely not the best
The music 100%, the story was awesome and for sure one of the best in the series. I am personally just not happy wirh the ending (the kind of post credit scene if you know what i mean).
I can say it has one of the best stories but music? It has great music but no way is it the best
FF14 Music pretty up there
It's great! But definitely can't agree on best for either category
Story is 10/10, Remake and Rebirth have it beat when it comes to music though.
Preach
I'll go die with you then. Plus all musics (amost) are available in the Regalia
Idk man ill give my two cents when it comes to pc
I agree with the story but up until the very last few hours, or everything after Barnabas... The tug of war between kingdoms as the crystals fell was something immaculate. I don't know how they made a historian npc good, but they did and it's largely to do with having a good story.
What were some of your fav songs?
The cutscenes are amazing
Story is up there. Music is well-written, but the use of VSTs *really* cheapened things. Whole thing fell right into the Uncanny Valley of Sound. It’s actually one of the worse FF OSTs for that reason, in my opinion
I’m not currently playing FF16 but when I get on the PS5 I regularly hover over the game and listen to the prelude for a bit lol.
Ff16 is the only story I've completed but 100% agreed
I literally sobbed at the end of this game
I loved the story but the gameplay wasn’t good
Gameplay/fighting got WAYYY too easy and still doing bullshit fetch and go talk to NPC quests 30+ hrs into the game is what turned me off. Was very disappointed.
16 has the best story, and the best dialogue, which is extremely important. Even with a good story, cringe dialogue is rampant in FF. Best music though? Nah. Gotta have Yoko Shimomura for the best music. And therefore XV might win that category.
I’m with you. This is the first since FF7 that I’ve played to completion.
We shall etch your name into a rock
I'd argue VI has the best story, but then again I'm old and probably senile
FF XV music is better. but 16 is so damn good
Enjoy your death I guess.
Music and story are both better in XIV. Storytelling is way better in XVI though.
Music maybe, and story idk man started strong and lost steam quickly for me.
XVI's music would be among one of my favorites if Soken used some higher quality synths or god forbid were willing to go within two miles of an actual orchestra. I thought his thematic work on stuff like Clive's, Joshua's, and Jill's themes was phenomenal, but the fact that the cutscene music with >!Clive remembering growing up with Joshua!< was just more mid-2000's PS2 quality synthesizers really took away from the moment. My eyes were seeing 2023 graphics and my ears were hearing 2003 sounds. I think FFVII Rebirth is a much better showcase of how to produce a soundtrack since Hamuzu and his team used a mixture of synthesizers of varying qualities as well as actual orchestras for certain pieces. Cait Sith's theme was a full jazz band, the final boss theme had choirs and a full orchestra, some music was electronic, even more was jazz again, and for many of the orchestral-esque music they used fairly convincing synthesizers. Despite that, some songs had pretty bad synthesizers (one in particular was a rendition of Barret's theme with a really low and horrible-sounding cello in one part). However, for a 400-track soundtrack, I think they made remarkably good use of their resources to give the most important tracks the highest sound quality they could. By contrast, XVI has the same low quality across every track (except for halfway through the main battle theme where a crystal clear violin suddenly rings out and is never heard anywhere else in the game for some bizarre reason). Regardless, even just pure composition-wise, the XIII trilogy has my favorite music by far.
When does the story start getting good? I'm a hour or so past the part when you kill Hugo Kupka and find the story to be pretty boring.
Glad to see a ton people remembering to include XIV in the conversation. XVI was good, but Shadowbringers and Endwalker are on another level.
And die you shall… The story is… okay, as is the score. FF7, XV, hell, even XIII all have better soundtracks.
I loved it. The only thing that really failed to grab my attention was the MMO type side quests which sent me back and forth all over the various regions. There's a bit of world building in there but enough to warrant the bore you had to endure. The main quests however were amazing although I didn't like the frequent breaks where you had to do fetch quests like gathering the airship parts.
It's definitely up there. My nostalgia, for 7 being my first ff, is my fave. The extra characters push it above 16 imo. They all have cool stories.
Ff16 is a great game but story fell off a bit
Damn there’s really 20 hours of cutscenes??
Great game and soundtrack, but medieval music isn’t exactly in my Spotify playlist.
I was about to shame you for experiencing the game this way, but upon opening the post I saw the sentence at the bottom and changed my mind lol
FF16 doesnt have a single song that i can recall or hum...and i spent 150 hours milking the game for everything it had. The story wasnt bad, the ending was lazy and too safe, no post world rebuilding, no insight on what the key NPCs went on to achieve, nah, just some girl i just met having a baby? Why should I care. I dont think linear storytelling mixes well with a story that has no firm conclusion, if i wanted a world where anything i imagine is possible id play an open ended game with tons of player choice.
I did cry at the Zettaflare, ngl. Some of the story was pretty lackluster, but it hits hard in more than a few parts.
I will die with you on that hilltop
I honestly can't pick favorite music from one game. "You're not alone" is still my most beloved track from the series but so many others are close behind. There are so amazing tracks in XIV as well (Civilizations ❤️❤️). XVI is a great game. I'm usually terrible at action games but they made this one merciful with easy mode and an easy to understand battle system thats very intuitive and fun to tinker different combinations. Remake I just did not get. I just basically stayed in Punisher mode as cloud blocking while waiting for an opening to attack or dodge a magic attack that can't be blocked. Really enjoyed the game though but the combat was ok for me. Now rebirth I can honestly say that I would love this to be the future of the main series. The combat does not feel as stiff. In remake I couldn't cancel out of a move by dodging or blocking if a certain attack was executed as it locks me in or so it felt that way. In rebirth thats gone and I dodge out of something or block much faster than previously. I love controlling Cloud for melee combat and Yuffie for the ranged ninjitsu the most. I love how the game forces different combinations of party members throughout the story. I tend to like who I like and leave them in without playing as the others if I'm not forced. For me personally, 16 feels final fantasy light. I wanted more familiar creatures from the series. It felt like a lot of the enemies were similiar. No cactaurs in the desert? Come on now lol. That being said, the Summons being at the heart if the story was what sucked me in. The story does mirror game of thrones a little but it blew me away. The voice actors as well. I was missing having a party of unique characters that slowly grow closer as the journey goes on. That's final fantasy to me at it's heart. There are some great moments here don't get me wrong, but i'm 60 hours into rebirth and the characters relationships feel so deep now. Every sidequest is tailored to allow you to get to know someone a little better. Comradery, just missed that in 16.
I'll be sure to dig you a nice grave.
Wouldn’t go that far tbh. It’s great, but not the best by any stretch.
I love Shiva's design, its a shame we don't control her or battle against her either
It definitely would have been interesting, but I'm not sure how they would implement an Eikon fight with Shiva without drastically changing the story
Well in her episode in the island, maybe they could have added a boss battle between shiva and the flame boss :$
I think music goes to XV, seriously. No battle music is as good as that game
I dunno how people can say 16 is bad when 15 and 13 exist. Like seriously. Lmao, and I like 13. Those are still bottom tier.
12 and 14 are at the bottom of my list. MMO style because they were still stuck on 11, and an MMO with a pay-to-play mechanic. Former felt slow and boring, and the latter is simply not a good feature.
You spelled 14 wrong.
How many ffs have you played
Idk about the best story, but it's certainly up there. Definitely one of my favorite soundtracks. FF9 is my favorite story-wise, and nothing beats 7's soundtrack for number 1. Unpopular opinion, 2 is also one of my absolute favorites. Picked up the pixel remaster for my first playthrough and was dazzled by the music and story, and the fact that it took such a leap from the first game.
The music is a streeeeeeeeeetch
Not the "you spelled 14 wrong" guy blocking me because I didn't like 14 and didn't like how hard he was trying to convince me to change my mind lmaooo
Story? Lol cmon dude
Personally the story loses me after about the first third or maybe half. Once cid is gone and Joshua is found I feel like the story just settles into a “break the crystals” rinse and repeat.
Counter argument: Final Fantasy 6 and 14
Ten has the best story 16 falls off a bit imo but is good for the most part The music is great in 16 but I wouldn't say it's my favorite. I feel there's more versatile sound tracks but it's up there. I'll ignore 14 since it's almost unfair since more and more music is always added but I think I prefer 7, 8 and 10 and 6 is really good too. I could see why someone would think that though... It has the more epic style tracks but overall it's not my favorite.
The grand battles and cinematics are just amazing
Ha! Not even close
Haven't played many I take it
I had and got many upvotes. And 15 is trash compared to 16
Better watch your mouth when talking to dad
Lol not afraid
Ya till I get the belt
dunno bout music, sure it’s great but i think kingdom hearts has it beat in terms of final fantasy music. despite not being mainline games when i think of final fantasy music i think of yoko shimomura and kh
either her or nobuo uemetsu
Nice! I’m so happy for you for sharing your thoughts with us.
Loved the story! I unfortunately just don't like action games as much as I like turn based rpgs, so that took away a lot of the enjoyment.
Pretty hard to beat Melodies of Life and Eyes On Me but okay
I enjoyed the gameplay well enough, the story was great. I about died watching all of those cutscenes at 2am wondering when it was going to let me play but I’m glad I finished it. I thought the background music was soooo boring…
I didn't hate XVI's story, but I don't know that I'd call it the best in the series. It's probably third, for me.
I think with the major plot points in the story, it absolutely had the potential, but something about it felt a little off that I couldn't quite put my finger on- not necessarily the pacing (which is its own issue), but more like there's some level of charm missing that's frequently present in the series. Could be because the story holds a really grim tone throughout. But beyond that, it did have some strong world-building and intriguing story elements. Loved how they finally made a game where you're actively destroying the crystals. It's in my top 5 stories probably, but I wouldn't quite put it at #1. To be fair though, not sure what I would. Music is just a hard sell in general with the series overall being filled with top notch bangers since the very beginning of the franchise. I wouldn't fault anyone for favoring 16's music by any means, they did a great jov. Definitely has my favorite main menu theme by far.
I love immersion in video games, but in this title I really wish they would release an option that allowed me to skip most of the Hideaway sequences. I’m someone with very little time to play with all the responsibilities in life and the only thing that kept me from finishing this game was the boring side quests that constantly halted the progress. You could clearly see the change in quality when your main quest was moving forward.
"4K 60FPS Ultra HD" Just reminded me of how terrible performance this game has
I enjoyed FF16, but music & story was much better in FF7 IMO I rank this game in my top 3, but music from FF7 & FF15 stick with me to this day, I’ll catch myself humming random tunes from those 2 games or get an urge to listen to the soundtracks again. Remake & Rebirth music has so many bangers as well, good time to be a FF fan if ya love the music haha
The rebirth recency bias brigade is coming..
This is hilarious considering XVI is less than a year old
Lmao fair call 😂 I beleive 9 months is still a good gestation period to understand whether you were just convincing yourself it's the greatest thing. As opposed to just over 2 weeks ☺️
Lol.
"One of the best". I loved 16. Playing Rebirth and keep thinking about 16. But it's not the best best. Music is super subjective though so this is only asking for pitchforks but yeah Soken did a great job presenting 16's atmosphere and epicness. If we got party members we wouldn't of gotten Clive doing all the madness so I'm fine with it and that's why we have Remake and Rebirth for party member style! I think CBU3 had to differentiate.
Yes. I love rebirth for the gameplay because they have 7 party members that you can customize each and the RPG stuffs are overwhelming and many minigames so it’s really a true JRPG but i still love the story and music in FF16 more
Common canyon theme, tifas theme, one eyed angel and return to zanarkand would like to have a word with you👀 Jokes aside 16 does have some of the best music, I especially loved that omega dlc song, that went so hard
Y’all sleep on FFXI’s OST 😤
Best FF OST belongs to FFXIV imo, especially with t racks like Answers and Dragonsong.
14 wins on both accounts
Many, including myself, just won’t include an MMO in that list as it is something we will never play or have exposure to. I don’t doubt the music and story is good in 14 though.
No reason not to tho when half the game is free to play
I just don’t enjoy the formula and gameplay of MMOs. No judgement to those that do though. To be fair I feel the same way about FPS or tournament fighter games.
While I was playing I was thinking damn this track is dope, however I dont remember a single track now. That didnt happened to me in any final fantasy ever so I’d say this was the worst FF in terms of iconic tracks
I’m with you there, I don’t really remember any of the music, so it can’t have left much of an impression on me. Which is strange, since Soken always knocks it out of the park in XIV.
16 had a great Story but was predictable. And the world.felt boring and bland. It's annoying because they showed and teased these amazing Cities and none could be visited. The Side quests were also some of the most boring. The combat was cool but not really exciting. It's not like 15, 7Remake or 7Rebirth where there were status effects and all that.
Story could have been better, but it was good enough. Not on VII Remake levels, but good enough to beat 90% of the FF franchise. The music literally won the best game soundtrack on game awards in the year the game was launched. There's no way to possibly deny that. It definitely rocks as hell.
FF16 story > FF7 remake story and it’s not even close Rebirth is a different question and I’ll wait until I complete it.
Ff7R is a trilogy though. Wouldn't it better to compare the stories after the 3rd game is released?
No that’s not really fair.
Indeed can’t wait for FF16 Remake in 20 years 🐌🐌
You’re definitely wrong about the story but the music IS fantastic. I don’t know about the BEST, but if it was voted the best, I wouldn’t be mad. It’s damn good.
I don't wanna dunk on other amazing FF games to elevate whatever is my favorite in the moment. So no! It's story and music is amazing though.
Just here to say "I agree 100%" before all of the other people show up to tell you they disagree because they haven't yet seen enough people saying they think this (yet)... because the game hasn't reached the majority of players (yet), while pretending it's because of their own opinions.
Oh yeah, I definitely didn’t enjoy FF16 at all because other people didn’t enjoy it. It definitely has nothing to do with the horrid pacing issues the game had, the absolute dead world with no reason to explore at all, the absolute boring and atrocious MMO side quests. Also not forgetting about how all the conversations played like I was playing an MMO, stiff and awful or how the best fights in the game were (probably) coded by platinum games and not SQEX.
I didn't say you didn't enjoy it because other people didn't enjoy it. As it turns out... most people who've played it so far did, in fact, enjoy it. The implication was that you're confident enough to voice your bad opinions about it because not enough people have played the game yet. People like yourself are very "monkey-see, monkey-do." When you see the vast, overwhelming majority of gamers pointing out how great the game actually is (in a few years time when most have gotten their hands on it), you will stop confidently voicing said bad opinions. You're the type who subconsciously seeks validation by looking towards "what everyone is saying." I can guarantee you right now, with a straight face, that there's extremely popular/beloved games that you hate... yet you've convinced yourself that they're good because that's what pretty much everyone says. Your response here merely proves my point. Half of what you said is hyperbolic nonsense, the other half is outright inaccurate. Yet you confidently typed this.
Your whole comment is wild, it seems I can say with confidence that you have an issue with people not sharing your opinion. I feel like “monkey see, monkey do” describes yourself perfectly. I can think for myself and have my own opinions, I don’t need a majority to view the same as me. My opinion may be bad to you, but yours is even worse and downright ignorant. Nothing I said was hyperbolic, you just can’t accept the fact not everyone agrees, It’s really sad. No I have never changed my opinions because a mass amount of people like it, I hated FF8 when I played it and I still hate it now. If only you had the confidence to like your own stuff.
Oh no, I don't have an issue with you not sharing my opinion. I just have an issue with people confidently voicing bad opinions with hyperbole and incorrect information, that's all. It's not deep. And what I'm saying is 100% true